Carver’s chance to stake strong claim to stay as Newcastle boss

Ross Gregory

JOHN Carver returns to work today knowing he will be given every chance by the Newcastle United board to win the head coach job on a permanent basis.

The Magpies revealed at the weekend that they “won’t consider” looking for a new head coach until the end of the season.

Newcastle managing director Lee Charnley – who is tasked with the appointment – will wait to see how Carver gets on before deciding whether to revisit any former targets

Newcastle appointed Carver as head coach for the rest of the campaign after Alan Pardew’s departure to Crystal Palace.

And while his results have been less than impressive – Newcastle winning just twice since Pardew’s departure, against Hull and Aston Villa – Carver still appears to be in pole position to be in charge when the new term kicks off in August.

That is because Newcastle managing director Lee Charnley – who is tasked with the appointment – will wait to see how Carver gets on before deciding whether to revisit any former targets.

Charnley and chief scout Graham Carr held informal discussions over a number of possible candidates in January, including Remi Garde.

They insist that those talks mean they are already advanced in their search should they decide Carver isn’t the right man for the job,

though the fear is that they could have missed out on candidates, or won’t give a new boss enough time to bed in before the new season starts.

However, they do want someone who is ‘tactically astute’ with a track record of bringing through young players.

The minutes from the club’s recent Fan’s Forum read: “The board stated that it will not consider the matter again until the end of the season.

“The board went through a lengthy process in terms of speaking to a number of people about coming to the club as a potential head coach.

“The outcome of that process was that the board felt the best option was for John Carver to be appointed to the position until the end of the season, at which point it will be reviewed.

“In the event the board should need to look for an external candidate in the summer for the position of Head Coach, the board would not have to start the process all over again due to the level of detail and work which went into the initial search.

“The board would look for an individual who would fit into the club’s structure, someone who is tactically astute, and who has a track record of developing young players and the ability to improve players.

“The club has no concerns over whether a potential new head coach is British or from overseas and deems other criteria far more important.”

Carver and the Newcastle squad returned to training today after having the weekend off, and will begin preparations for the trip to Everton at the weekend.